Look who turned 7!

She decided on chocolate ice cream to go with her pancakes for breakfast. She helped make the pancakes - which seems to be a new favorite thing with all the kids on their birthdays. I made her the heart pancake on her plate. She just had lots of fun.

She chose to make her cake with me this year. After discussing many different options she ended up choosing a chocolate pie (a recipe we got from Grandpa Nichols, so she could have asked him to make it but we had fun making it together). It is such an easy pie to make, and I did it the right way this time so it turned out perfectly, and she was delighted to help so much. She had a bit of trouble blowing out the candles.

The card from my parents came after breakfast so she just opened it with presents.

When I asked her for a list of gift ideas for Grandma and Grandpa Nichols she came up with some random stuff. I let them know that she just pulled it off the top of her head and she'd really be happy with whatever. They got her some marbles, with a shooter marble, which was one of the things she asked for. They also got her a Friends Lego set. It will go nicely with the tub of Legos we gave her.

Domonique wanted more presents.

We found Emily's watch that we lost and already replaced so Emily decided to give the old one to Xiomara. She loves it. I attached new velcro and adjusted the strap so it fits her arm better. She finds all sorts of reasons to time herself.

In all she received: Magic Tree House #26 & 28 (the store didn't have 27); washable markers; paint your own piggy bank; Herbie movies; The Work and the Glory #6 (Kevin reads those to the kids); bucket of Legos; yellow and maroon scarf from Kevin; colored pictures from Kemiah; watch from Emily; clay bowl and necklace from Marissa (Ben helped make the wrapping for it); marbles and Friends Legos from Grandpa and Grandma Nichols, as well as $7 in the card they gave her. I'd say she made out big time!

Last Pinewood Derby!

He finished his car yesterday! We glued some washers to the bottom and figured that was good enough. Then Kevin took him to a hobby shop before the derby to see if they could weigh it and maybe buy some other weights, if needed. I met them at the Church with all the girls. They were ready and felt really good because of some trial runs the boys had been doing before the official start. The Wolves and Bears went first, then it was time for the Webelos. Ben was one of four and he took first place! Then they had a championship with the winningest cars. Ben was one of four cars again. This time, for some strange reason, his car didn't do as well and he ended up 4th. He was so crushed. I felt so bad for him. Fortunately, they had cookies after the closing prayer and the boys did some more races just for fun. Ben talked about the Anything Goes Derby that our ward does and he has big plans! I think he did great!

Here are the girls all huddled around one of their favorite people.

Waiting for the races to begin.

Get ready! Get Set! Go!
Ben's car is the second one from the left.

 Ben's car is the one out in front, farthest to the left.

These are the only pictures I got because my battery died and I didn't have the extra one. Oops! Kevin took lots of video though. It was a fun evening and I'm so glad Ben was able to overcome his disappointment.

Poor thing.

This has been Domonique for the past couple days. She has had a fever and she threw up in her bed yesterday. She hasn't eaten much and I'm pretty sure she's not drinking enough but I keep offering and I keep trying to get her to take more but she just won't. I'll be so happy when she's over this bug and she starts to eat more! She had a happy moment today when she was playing games with the other kids but then it was back to this, but usually on the couch and not in front of the door. Get better soon, little girl!

Serious Legos

For Christmas, each of the 5 older kids got a Lego set that is pretty serious stuff. With each set, you can build two things, with special pieces, gears, and all that stuff. I was surprised when Kemiah opened hers up, all on her own, and started putting it together. It's a FANTASTIC thing that all the instructions are pictures and no words! She did a really great job building the plane.

It was great!

A few days ago, she took the plane apart to build the hovercraft, but she never got around to it. So,today she wanted to put it together. She probably could have done it all by herself but she asked me to help. I should have kept my hands out, and I did most of the time, so she could do it all by herself. She is so proud of the hovercraft...

The gears all line up so that when you roll it on the ground, the blades rotate in the back. The oooing and awing from her brother probably helped increase her love for this one! It was fun to watch her and spend time with her as she put this together. Thanks for letting me be with you!

Just when you think you've made it...

More kids turn up sick. I know it's just that time of year, and really we probably pass around sickness all year long. And I have absolutely no right to complain about any of this because it has really been pretty mild, compared to what it could have been. We've just had fevers, coughs, headaches, sore throats, whole body itchy rash (for one poor child), and today Domonique threw up in her bed during her nap. Instead of coming to get me she just moved to the end of her bed and went back to sleep. Poor thing. They are all tucked in for the night and hopefully they'll sleep well so their bodies can keep fighting whatever sickness it is they are dealing with. Kevin and I got a little something as well, but it passed quickly. It's just so hard to watch the little kids lay around all day because they don't have the energy, strength, or desire to do anything else. Maybe I need to feed them more ice cream!

Catching up...

Just wanted to let you know that I finally posted Christmas stuff. I don't want it in January so it's back in December. I'm sure you can find it, if you really want to see it.

It's Gaumonique, the fire fighter!

That's how she says her name, with a g sound instead of a d.
I guess we need to work on that.
She sure is a cute fire fighter.

Even if she wanted to spray me with the water, "because I'm silly," says Domonique.

The other day I was in the living room and I fell to the floor dead. She came to me and kept calling to me. I told her I was dead but she kept calling to me. I finally opened my eyes, only to see her bent over me. Seeing that I was now paying attention she said, "What you want to play?" Then she said, "You want to play UNO?" It's her newest favorite game. Grandma and Grandpa Nichols gave us a new variety to the UNO game. It's call UNO Reflex, and I think she really likes it because of the big button you get to push. She understands the game, is learning colors and numbers, and usually invites others to play with her. What a wonderful little learner! Maybe I can somehow incorporate that into potty training...

Last day of Vay-cay!

Kevin took the first week of January off from work and we didn't go anywhere. He did a lot of wood collecting to rebuild our supply. Yes, we are trying to keep a year supply of wood (fuel), so we restock as we use it up. He's really amazing. Anyway, the kids helped most afternoons, because we couldn't take time off from school. (We are so behind!) Sunday, when Kevin came home from Church, later than expected, he whispered to me, "What do you think about going bowling tomorrow?" What? NO WAY! The kids would LOVE it! So, Monday morning, we let them do their computer work, like normal, and we even had class. Then when it was lunch time we told them to brush their hair, get their shoes and coats on, and head out to the big van. We drove to the alley and they still weren't really sure what we were doing - but they were sure they weren't doing wood! They were so thrilled and we had a great time. Not only did we bowl for three hours, but we ate pizza and french fries and drank fizzy drink! (orange, root beer, and lemon lime pop) We all really had a great time! They didn't have automatic bumpers so we opted to have bumpers on both lanes to try and keep the kids from having to wait so long between turns. They were eating, cheering, bowling, and having so much fun. Domonique was content eating on her own and just watching, until the end and then I let her bowl some with me. On one frame she actually got a spare! Kevin, Kemiah and I were on one lane and we bowled 5 games. Ben, Marissa, Emily, and Xiomara were on the other lane and they bowled 4 games. I will honestly admit that my three older kids bowled better than I did. Unfortunately, that's not really saying much, but they did great and just had fun together.

Twins! The girls have gotten into dressing the same or just pretending they are twins.

Domonique couldn't wait any longer for us to help her with her pizza so she just grabbed a piece and started eating.

Most of the kids wanted french fries instead of pizza. I must admit they were really good fries - I'd rather eat these than go to McDonald's.

Kevin and Ben

She ate and drank and watched from her stroller.

I did have to get her out to change her diaper and we let her explore some. She found the stairs and had a blast. Then we put her back into the stroller.

Marissa, the left handed bowler.

Kemiah.

Ben took this very seriously and was a little hard on himself that he wasn't getting better - strikes and spares.

Xiomara

Emily

Game one:

Game 2:

Game 3:

Game 4:

Game 5:

Game 4 for the kid lane:


(I will have to mention that my legs and back are a little achy since bowling.)